Company, Company, Company!

If you've noticed that posts have been sparse recently, I thought it was time for a bit of an explanation.

It's a busy time for me right now. We had our annual Fourth of July celebratory event with about thirty people in attendance. It was a lot of fun, and just a wee bit exhausting.

And last night was another annual event. My cousin Linda who lives in South Carolina and her family came to Near Philadelphia to visit her mom. And while she is in town, we always like to get together to have dinner and reminisce. There were about 13 or 14 of us last night. It was one of those wonderful times where everyone brings something and everything goes together well. Linda dazzled us all with her uncanny ability to distinguish relationships -- you know the kind where you wonder if Stephanie is your second cousin or your first cousin once (or twice?) removed? Linda's grandchildren are delightful and, of course, are growing like weeds. Joe had saved some of his pyrotechnics from July 4th and he and they had a wonderful time noising up the neighborhood again.

So, you might wonder, what's with the map? I have a houseguest! Ilona is an administrator in a Lutheran social service agency in Silesia, in the Czech Republic. A church and agency partnership has enabled her to spend 7 weeks in the U.S., learning about our social service agencies and perfecting her English. She'd been five weeks with another family before coming to us, and it seems to me as though she's made superb progress with both of her goals. She's a real sweetheart, no trouble at all to have around the house. I haven't managed to get her quilting yet, but, heck, we have another week! So who knows . . . .

Tomorrow I'm leaving work early. Kathleen and I are taking Ilona out to Lancaster County. She wants to learn a bit about the Amish, and it will be fun to show her around. Planning to take her to Bird-in-Hand for The Amish Experience Theatre and then out to Intercourse for some shopping. We'll see buggies and Amish farmers on Rte. 340 and we'll stop at the Old Country Store so she can see the piles of Amish-made quilts (and I can peruse the bolts). We'll have dinner and then drive home for a good night's sleep!